Duties

This position could be located within any directorate within the Chief Operating Office.

This position serves as a Supervisory Contract Specialist within the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. This position will be utilized throughout the service unit. The incumbent will serve as a first line supervisor for a diverse contracts staff, and manage day-to-day operations of the award and administration of purchase orders and contracts for the Library of Congress. The incumbent will serve as a Contracting Officer and be responsible for the solicitation, award and administration of major contracts, and for the work of subordinate Contract Specialists.

Supervises employees performing work at the GS-13 and below level. Provides administrative and technical supervision needed for completing the unit's work. Works with a diverse group of client units, and evaluates the workload requirements of the Contracts Section. Manages the workload, and makes assignments in accord with the workforce's knowledge and skills.

Coordinates in-depth compliance review and analysis of complex, unusual, or unprecedented contract actions. These complex types of acquisitions include mission-critical contracts such as preservation services, library integration systems, and critical building maintenance services. Reviews contracts and solicitations for appropriate contract type, pricing and other contract provisions, selection of source, acquisition method, determinations and findings, documentation, clarity of contract terms, and propriety of cited funds. Coordinates requirements for internal Library review and compliance prior to awards.

Negotiates contracts for procuring products and services for production of prototype equipment or systems or research and development where there is a lack of precedent and experience. Contract actions involve complex pricing arrangements and unique delivery methods. Plans, develops, and establishes the contractual strategy for the overall acquisition program. Determines the types of contracts to be utilized, and prepares justifications.

Serves as a Contracting Officer with unlimited signatory authority for significant projects characterized by large funding levels with a commitment period extending over a long period of time. Possesses complete authority for all contract actions and phases of the project including requirements definition, procurement planning, solicitation methodology, conduct of pre-proposal conferences, develops source selection plans and makes award recommendations.

Prepares complex contractual pricing arrangements and incentives such as developing pricing schedules that allow flexibility for the Program Office through the use of sophisticated contracting techniques; such as cost-plus-incentive-fee or fixed-price-incentive-fee or economic price adjustment clauses.

Serves as a Library-wide expert in a functional area of procurement, e.g., pre-award issues or price/cost analysis and post award issues, responsible for providing expert technical advice and guidance, staff coordination, and consultation.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

The Supervisor leads his/her staff toward meeting the Library's vision, mission, and goals by acting decisively, leveraging diversity and inclusiveness, demonstrating flexibility and resilience, fostering continuous improvement and innovation, and fostering integrity and honesty. To view the Library's Supervisory Core Competencies click the following link: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/uploads/loc_supervisor_core_competencies.pdf .

Qualifications

Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.

Knowledge of Federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issue solicitations and contracts.**

Ability to supervise and manage a diverse workforce.**

Ability to communicate and negotiate in writing.**

Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and develop solutions in a Federal contracting operation.

Ability to develop and maintain effective client relationships.

Ability to communicate and negotiate effectively other than in writing.

Education

Basic Requirements:

A. Completion of all mandatory training prescribed by the head of the agency for progression to GS-13 or higher level contracting positions, including at least 4-years experience in contracting or related positions. At least 1 year of that experience must have been specialized experience at or equivalent to work at the next lower level of the position, and must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the work of the position.

and

B. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management.

C. Exceptions: Employees in GS-1102 positions will be considered to have met the standard for positions they occupy on January 1, 2000. This also applies to positions at the same grade in the same agency or other agencies if the specialized experience requirements are met. However, they will have to meet the basic requirements and specialized experience requirements in order to qualify for promotion to a higher grade, unless granted a waiver under Paragraph D.

D. Waiver: When filling a specific vacant position, the senior procurement executive of the selecting agency, at his or her discretion, may waive any or all of the requirements of Paragraphs A and B above if the senior procurement executive certifies that the applicant possesses significant potential for advancement to levels of greater responsibility and authority, based on demonstrated analytical and decision making capabilities, job performance, and qualifying experience. With respect to each waiver granted under this Paragraph D, the senior procurement executive must document for the record the basis of the waiver. If an individual is placed in a position in an agency on the basis of a waiver, the agency may later reassign that individual to another position at the same grade within that agency without additional waiver action.

You must submit a legible copy of your college/university transcripts to your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Official transcripts will be required if selected. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification of your application.

Foreign Education - Education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed equivalent to conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. If your college/university is outside the U.S., your transcripts must be accompanied by a report from a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE) . Failure to submit a foreign education evaluation report will result in disqualification of your application.

Additional information

Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.

This position is located in the Office of the Chief Operating Officer.

The position description number for this position is 237198.

This is a supervisory, non-bargaining unit position.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. All who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of disability when applying for this position. The certificate of disability must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and may be issued by a State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, a Disability Services or Career Services Office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The date of certification must be within three (3) years of the vacancy closing date and must be submitted with your application. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. In addition, per Library of Congress Regulation 2010-12, an appointee or internal selectee is subject to a one-year supervisory probationary period, if this is his/her first supervisory/managerial position at the Library.

Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section X.D, at: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/msp010909.pdf .